INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL BRINGS GLOBAL STARS TO MALTA

The special edition of the Malta International Music Festival is promising some of the most prestigious names in classical music and near-daily concerts spread over more than two weeks, starting on 15 April. For the first time, the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) is a co-organiser, though it had also performed in last year’s edition.

The Malta International Music Festival, which runs until 1 May, is organised by the European Foundation for Support of Culture and the MPO, with the support of the Valletta 2018 Foundation. The internationally-renowned musicians coming to Valletta for this festival include Grammy Award-winning Israeli violinist Maxim Vengerov, two gold medal winners of the Tchaikovsky International Competition – Russian pianist Grigory Sokolov and Armenian cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan, American violist David Aaron Carpenter, violinist Ray Chen, pianist Denis Kozhukhin, clarinettist Andreas Ottensamer and the Khachaturyan Trio.

There will be 17 classical music concerts, ranging from piano recitals and chamber music to a large-scale concert featuring no less than two orchestras – the MPO and the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra. The two will play in tandem on 22 April at 8pm at Pjazza San Ġorġ. This concert will see the two orchestras perform a song cycle inspired by the Great Siege, composed by Alexey Shor.

The festival also comprises the Malta International Piano Competition, which will see some of the world’s most promising pianists compete for a €100,000 top prize and a total prize fund of €200,000.

The full programme of concerts and activities can be found on the official website, and tickets for all events may be purchased here.